


Summer of 69 aka First Love (Part 1 of T&N Saga)

by Dr_wpjt



Series: The Trish & Nikki Saga [1]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Dorks in Love, F/F, First Love, Mindoir, Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:40:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25473265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dr_wpjt/pseuds/Dr_wpjt
Summary: Mindoir, 2169 - Nicola "Nikki" Shepard hates school, loves sports and both loves and hates her brothers. Oh and she's about to discover the other kind of love, the kind that makes your heart beat faster and your brain malfunction.Part 1 of a saga that will span all the way to ME3.
Relationships: Female Shepard/Original Female Character
Series: The Trish & Nikki Saga [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1845190
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	1. First Sight

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on FF under the title First Love, this story was written in answer to the question 'How would a civilian Love Interest handle the madness Shepard deals with?' I have currently written up until part way through ME2 with these characters, but since AO3 has a series feature I will be taking advantage of that and splitting it into five stories: teen Shepard, pre-game adult Shepard, ME1, 2 & 3.
> 
> For this first story there are no archive warnings for the first ten chapters. The last two chapters aren't graphic in my opinion but does (spoiler) cover the Mindoir raid so I decided to play it safe and use the "choose not to apply warnings" tag.
> 
> Hope you enjoy. Any comments/feedback gratefully received.

"Nicola, NICOLA SHEPARD! Are you even paying attention?" The teenager slammed the front legs of her chair down onto the floor in frustration, tearing her gaze away from the window and back onto the miserable old bat at the front of the classroom.

It was a beautiful sunny day outside and she would much rather be out swimming or hiking or even helping her father work in the fields... _**Anything**_ but be stuck inside this stuffy building!

"As I was saying," Mrs Lewis continued pointedly, "the first mass relay was discovered in 2149 and was activated by a group of explorers led by Jon Grissom-"

"That's why we fought the turians wasn't it?" Some smarmy punk interrupted from the middle of the room.

"Not quite Bobby, you're thinking of the Relay 314 Incident in '57. This was much earlier and..."

_History! Pfft, who even gives a frig about history?_ Shepard thought as she let the voice fade into a constant drone in the background. _Whoop-de-doo people did stuff._ It was all in the past, she'd much rather focus on the present. How about they let _**her**_ do something interesting for a change, rather than having to waste away her life with school.

Checking the teacher was suitably distracted, she leant back in her chair once more, overriding the mag locks so she could tilt far enough to look out the window again. The ONLY redeeming feature about history was that it coincided with the year above's P.E class, and her seat had a perfect view of the netball courts.

...

"Looks like you've got another admirer Nikki." Her father's voice tore her attention away from her work in the field as they focused on bringing in the harvest, sun beating down mercilessly on their backs, neck protected by her shoulder length black hair. She gave a groan.

"How many times do I have to punch these pricks before they get the hint I'm not interested?"

"I don't know kiddo, you never know you might be interested in this one." She shot him a glare but he simply smiled and nodded his head in the relevant direction. Knowing from past experience that he wouldn't shut up until she at least looked, she turned her head, dismissal already on the tip of her tongue. It died in her throat as she saw the two girls sat a short way away from the rest of the group.

While most of the girls in the crowd were drooling over the muscly, and in some cases not so muscly boys, these two had their attention on her. They weren't from her class but she realised with a start that she recognised them: Wing Attack and Goal Defense. She turned back to her work with a blush.

"Well?"

"Well what?" She didn't look at him. Didn't need to in order to know there would be a grin spreading across his face. A look in his eye that said: 'you know what'. She sighed. "They were _giggling_ Dad. They're probably just sat there making jokes about me."

"If you're not interested that's fine honey, but I'm telling you from experience, she is definitely interested in you. So don't let fear hold you back."

"I'm not scared!" The response was instant as he knew it would be.

"No? Then why don't you go over there and talk, don't have to do anything else, just go say hi."

"I'm working."

"The field will still be here when you get back."

"If she's worth anything I'm sure she can hold on until the fields are finished." Thomas laughed to hear his own words, spoken so often to his eldest son when he tried skipping work, quoted back by his daughter.

"So, we're agreed? If they're still there when we finish this field you'll go talk." She scowled at his trap but snuck another quick peek over her shoulder.

"Fine. I'll say hi. That's all."

In retrospect he should have seen it coming Thomas thought, struggling not to facepalm as his daughter nodded at the two girls, said 'hi' and then kept on walking. He sighed, Nikki was a good kid, a much better worker than her brothers and he really was proud of her, but sometimes... She was absolutely hopeless!


	2. First Contact

There was a difference between being able to drive and being allowed to drive. She'd been practicing on farm vehicles since she hit her teens, the colony was fairly relaxed about things like that, on her parents' land it was her parents' rules but on the public roads there was this stupid thing called laws.

 _Just a few more months_ , Nikki thought as she picked up the pace on her morning jog to school. Sixteen felt both so close and so far away, a bit like this last push in the three mile run each day.

She _**could**_ just catch the school bus like everyone else of course, but that was often just as sweaty as running in, only without the benefit of getting in early enough to use the showers in the locker room before first period.

Besides, running kept her fit.

Well ok, so boxing, hockey and regularly helping out on the farm would probably be more than enough to keep her fit regardless, but... her thoughts were interrupted as she caught sight of a car on the side of the road. She slowed her pace as she got nearer, the hood was up, hiding the driver's face and all she could see was a rather feminine looking arm.

"Do you need a hand?" Breakdowns weren't exactly an everyday occurrence but neither were they rare and she'd helped quite a few people out over the years. Yet another skill borne from being an atypical Daddy's girl. When she was little she'd do anything to spend time with him and he had been more than happy to pass his mechanical skills on to her when the boys hadn't been interested.

"You know cars? That would be amazing." The mystery driver stuck her head round the hood and Nikki found herself looking into the smiling face of Goal Defence.

"Uh, sure... Let's take a look." It was a simple enough fix, just a couple of wires that had somehow gotten loose and needed reconnecting. "There that should do it."

"Thanks, you're a miracle worker." Goal Defence over exaggerated as the car started back up, Nikki letting the hood back down. "You go to Jemison right? Hop in, I'll give you a lift. Name's Trish by the way."

"Err, Nikki. And it's ok, you don't have to-"

"It's fine, I'm at Jemison's too. Junior year, you're sophomore right?"

There should have been more than enough time by now to recover from her run but Nikki's heart was still racing as she settled in the passenger seat, Trish continuing to ask questions as she drove. Nikki answered her on autopilot, her attention caught by the way the wind blew through the other girl's long brown hair, the sun making it shine golden like autumn leaves.

 _Brown autumn leaves obviously, not the sickly yellowy greens or reds you get from some trees and..._ a laugh pulled her out from her tangent and she refocused on that smile, _the way it made her whole face light up and those bright blue eyes that shone as they looked... oh crap, she's looking at me!_

Nikki pulled her head round, blushing furiously as she focused out the window on the passing scenery for the rest of the journey. Thankfully it wasn't long before they were pulling into the school parking lot.

"Hey Trish." The voice spoke before the engine was even switched off, startling Nicola once more. She was fairly certain it wasn't her voice. Like, 85% certain.

"Hey Alice!"

 _Alice? Who the fu... OHH! Wing Attack is Alice._ The other girl walked over from where she'd been leaning against a wall, eyes darting between the two occupants in the car.

"Alice this is Nikki. Nikki, Alice. Can you believe it? Sophomore year and Nikki's already Centre-forward on the school hockey team."

_Wait how does she know about that? I can't even remember what we were talking about. What the hell else did I tell her?_

"I should umm, go get cleaned up. Nice to meet you Alice and err, thanks for the ride Trish."

"You're welcome. Thanks for fixing my car."

"Err, yeah, sure. Anytime." As the youngster moved nearly out of earshot she just caught Alice asking:

"Well?"

…

"Tell me you at least got her number Nick? Nick?"

"Come on Nikki, you've got to be kidding. Loose wires? That's not a fault, she was totally trying to get your attention. I can't believe you blew it! How did you not see that?"

"Now, now boys. Leave your sister alone and finish your supper." Thomas interrupted even though he somewhat agreed with his sons' sentiments, he silently shook his head in despair.

...

Nikki couldn't get that face out of her head, she was so beautiful and captivating. It was hard to be certain when the daydreams were so prolific, but she was sure she was seeing her around school more often as well. Not that she did anything about it.

Their sole conversation of note had been in the car and she could barely remember it. It wasn't that she didn't _**want**_ to talk. She wanted to blow the other girl away with her sharp wit and amazing repartee, but every time she actually saw her she got tongue-tied, too nervous about embarrassing herself to risk speaking at all. She lacked courage.

…

Nicola had only been walking but still slowed her pace slightly as she caught sight of the increasingly familiar red convertible on the way home from school.

The hood was up again and Goal Defen- Trish, was sat on top of the passenger side door swinging her lovely long legs back and forth.

"Hey Nikki, can you believe this?" The younger girl felt a tug at the corner of her mouth and dropped her eyes down to the ground, subconsciously biting her lip before closing the distance and looking under the hood.

"Did you check the wires?" She asked as Trish jumped down and came to stand beside her.

"Yep, it's definitely not the same thing as last time I can tell you that much."

"My brothers think you did it on purpose the other day, that you were umm, trying to get... someone's attention."

"Smart guys your brothers... What do you think?"

Nikki didn't say anything straight away, leaning in further as she caught sight of the problem. She straightened up with a handful of bolts, finally managing to look the smirking older girl in the eye as she held out the evidence.

"I'm starting to think they might be on to something. Do you have a torque wrench?"

Trish didn't even bother pretending to search the toolbox as she held out the necessary tool, Nikki smiling as she took it and ducked back under to work.

"Only starting to?"

"Yeah, well... umm." There was an awkward silence before Trish started laughing.

"You have no idea how to flirt do you." Nikki blushed crimson as she focused on tightening the bolts.

"Ermm... No, not really no."

"Well... If you want we could go to the drive-thru this weekend? Maybe you could pick up some tips from the vids."

"Drive-thru huh..." Nikki's eyes briefly made contact before darting away again, a smile curling hesitantly round her lips. "You sure your car can go that long without breaking down?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case there is any confusion, for the purpose of this story the driving age on Mindoir is 16, Shepard is currently 15, Trish is 16 and in the year above at school. (Hopefully I got the American class names right, it's always confused me how it works. I would just use grade/year numbers but so many countries start at different ages that even numbers could lead to confusion.) Their school is named after Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space.


	3. First Date

"You are **NOT** going out dressed like that young lady!"

"Daaad! When'd you get so stereotypical?" Thomas had to hold back a chuckle at that, if only she knew.

"It took you this long to get a date, I'm not having you strike out on the first innings. There's casual and there's casual. Now go upstairs and find something else to wear."

"I ain't wearing a dress Dad, don't even think it."

"Honey, unless your mother kept the one your Great Aunt Hilda got you for your third birthday I doubt you even _**own**_ a dress! Now go try again."

This time when his daughter came back down she was dressed in her best pair of jeans and a shirt with just the right ratio of smart to casual. It was certainly an improvement but the nerves rolling off her as she paced the room were practically tangible.

"Nikki... **Nicola!** " That got her attention. "She asked you right?"

A nod.

"Then stop worrying. You already know she's interested in you, so just be yourself."

Any other potential words of wisdom were cut short by the sound of a car coming up the drive, Thomas forcing himself to stay in the house as his little girl went outside.

He was immensely glad he'd had a practice run at this with the boys, but despite all the equality progress in the galaxy over the centuries some instincts were just hardwired into the brain and he was suddenly discovering a new level of respect for his Father-in-Law all those years ago.

...

 _"They like someone who's not afraid to take charge."_ The B-movie protagonist explained to his lovestruck sidekick up on the big screen. _"Plan a date, take some hostages, overthrow a government and burn down their ex's house. Maybe buy them a puppy."_

"So, Uhh... You remember saying I could get tips from the vids..." Trish glanced over out the corner of her eye, copying when Nikki twisted in her seat to find a better angle to try and see both screen and date.

 _"Honestly? Does that actually work?"_ The partner asked onscreen, Nicola raising an eyebrow as if the question was her own.

"Well I know _**I**_ wouldn't say no to a puppy."

"Awesome, where's the nearest government building? Let's go!"

They descended into laughter, Trish throwing a playful punch at her arm. Nikki caught the fist as it tried to retreat and gently uncurled the fingers, Trish smiling indulgently as she watched the youngster play with their hands. She felt the abrupt tension the moment the other girl realised what she had been doing and prepared to pull away, only then taking control as she gave a reassuring squeeze, interlocking their digits.

Nikki turned her attention back to the screen but allowed her hand to remain wrapped up, they sat silent a moment before Nick asked with forced casualness: "So... you got any houses needing burning?"

"Two exes, no burning required. Probably not a great idea anyway, one of their mother's a firefighter the other's got a cop for a dad."

"So, uh... why'd you settle for a farmer's daughter?"

Trish laughed before realising it wasn't a joke but a question asked in earnest.

 _Seriously, settled? Have you_ _**looked** _ _in a mirror lately gorgeous?_

"I don't pick my dates based on their parents!" Actually she hadn't picked anyone before, both her previous partners had been the ones to ask and while the attraction had certainly been mutual, neither of them had made her feel quite the way Nikki managed with a simple smile.

There was something adorable about how shy the teenager got when her nerves overcame her and yet at the same time Trish kept getting glimpses of the witty, almost cocky, personality hiding underneath and she found _that_ Nikki positively intriguing.

To have such an enthralling personality wrapped up in sun-kissed skin, held together with well defined, toned muscles and topped off with such a beautiful face… the only truly worthy question was how come nobody had snapped her up before?

"Oh that's a good one!" Nikki suddenly opined about something happening in the vid, tilting her neck at an awkward angle to face Trish but with her eyes scrunched shut as she parroted: "What colour are my eyes?"

"Brown." Trish shot back without hesitation, while the character on the screen in front of them failed the test.

"You sure?"

"Yep. Lovely, warm, chocolaty brown." There was a snort.

"Miss Mills must love you."

"Actually, no. Apparently my stories are... How did she word it? Ah, yes: 'technically detailed to pinpoint accuracy, but closer to an instruction manual than descriptive prose. On the rare occasion an adjective makes its way onto the page it is often lacking in inspiration, resulting in cliche after cliche'."

"No imagination eh? Terrible." Nikki shook her head despairingly, her eyes narrowing in concentration before holding a finger up to recite her own end of term report: "Nicola may not have as much natural proficiency for literature as in some of her other subjects, but if she put as much effort into her written work as she does her excuses, there could be a significant improvement in her grades."

The laughter this caused was only in part for her words and partly for the impression of the prim and proper teacher.

...

"Ok... Strangest non human food you've ever eaten?"

The vid's end credits were still rolling as they walked over to the food courts, a couple coming the other way clutching a tray of something a luminous green colour prompting Trish's question not long after they left the car.

"Hmm... Asari gumbo. It was alright, texture was a little rubbery." Trish made a face of revulsion. "My brother got hold of some hanar mindfish last year, but Dad burst in before anyone else got to try it. Think it's the only time I've ever seen him properly angry, he snatched the bowl away and just started yelling. John shrunk back with this look of pure terror, apparently he thought Dad was a two-headed, fire-breathing krogan! It was three days before he stopped tripping. My parents would take turns to check up on him every couple of hours and each time, as soon as they knew he was ok, they'd try to do something to freak him out."

They shared a chuckle, Nick at the memory and Trish at what her imagination conjured up from the words.

"What about you?" The ravenhead returned the question.

"Ok, I'll admit... I'm a bit of a coward, _but_ I have a good reason. When I was nine I visited my dad on Arcturus station and helped myself to chocolate from his desk... Turned out it was dextro. I was sick for a week, really put me off trying alien food."

"Your dad's in the Alliance?"

"Was. He died when I was 12."

"Oh... I'm sorry. I can't even imagine..."

"Yeah it was hard for awhile, never really stop missing him but- Oh stop looking so scared! I'm not going to break down crying, it was years ago, I can talk about him."

"Oh good. I have _**no**_ idea what to do if you suddenly started crying." Trish tilted her head, trying to decide whether now was a perfect opportunity to segue into the concept of hugging or if that would just scare the other girl off. Before she could make up her mind Shepard asked another question: "What's your favourite memory of him?"

It caught her by surprise and she must have paused too long before answering as Nikki started to apologise.

"No, it's ok, I'm just thinking. It's a good question." She smiled as a particular recollection entered her head. "When we were winning at paintball but he got thrown out for 'improper conduct'."

" _ **What?**_ You can't just leave it like that. Details!"

"He got a stick, covered it in paint and then kept creeping up behind people to 'slit' their throats." Her fingers made the appropriate air quotes. "People kept moaning that it wasn't fair. They didn't seem to appreciate that it should have been harder than simply shooting them from a distance. Whhiiiich is what he did after being kicked out... Converted a sniper rifle to fire paint, found a high point outside the grounds and shot anyone who tried to flank me."

"Nice!" They were nearly at the building now and Nikki lengthened her stride, subtly at first then increasingly noticeably as Trish kept matching the pace.

The older girl glanced bemusedly out the corner of her eye, trying to work out what the sophomore was up to, Nikki practically darting the last couple of steps to triumphantly hit the door release. Trish shook her head with a smile as she realised that, without having made any specific conscious decision, she'd been the one opening the few doors they'd encountered that evening.

Inside was packed and they took a moment to look around and decide what they wanted to eat. Although still a relatively small colony, the drive-thru was a popular location and contained probably the second largest food court on Mindoir with a mixture of local businesses and bigger, galactic level restaurant chains present.

Glancing over to ask Nikki's opinion, Trish noticed she was biting her lip, finger tapping away nervously.

"What is it?"

Shepard turned with a devilish glint in her eye, gaze briefly locking on before darting away again, tapping increasing in speed. The brunette arched an eyebrow inquiringly: "Come on, what?"

Nikki turned her shoulder slightly, almost protectively, her face somehow managing to seemingly flinch and smirk at the same time as she stated:

"There's no queue at Dextro Dave's!"


	4. Chapter 4

Despite the success of her first date Nikki still got butterflies in her stomach every time she caught sight of Trish at school.

It was a week of smiles as they passed in the corridors, of sitting together at lunch, of just holding hands and talking rubbish. Little, innocent things that shot a thrill of unexplainable nerves and excitement through her nonetheless. And then of course there was their new morning routine:

"Do you want a lift?"

Nikki was already grinning, had been since she first heard the now familiar purr of the red convertible's engine creeping up behind her. She glanced to the side as the car pulled level with her, Trish's teasing smile beaming back at her. She shook her head and put on a spurt, sneaking ahead of the vehicle for a grand total of four seconds before Trish put her foot down and shot ahead, stopping about fifty meters further up the empty road.

The older girl shifted to lean out over the back seat, waiting for Nikki to get closer before calling out once more: "You sure? It's like forty degrees out here."

"Be hotter later." Nikki ground out as she ran past. Trish swiveled back round and restarted the car, obliterating the youngster's temporary lead and trying to match pace with her, a surprisingly difficult task. "Go any slower and that car's going to stall."

"Then you'd have to stop and fix it for me."

"Fix a stall? If you can't manage that you shouldn't be driving!"

And so the banter would continue until one of them feigned offense, Trish speeding away distraught or Nikki turning and running the opposite direction for a bit in disgust. Then it would all be twinkling eyes and repressed laughter next time their eyes met and the same game again next morning.

On Monday the offer of a lift had been genuine and made towards the very start of the journey, by Wednesday however Trish had accepted Nikki either wanted or needed to run and restricted her disruptive activities to the end of the route, on that last little desolate stretch before civilisation started to appear and they had to be safe and sensible again.

Thursday had been the hottest day of the summer so far, which may explain why the usually low-crime colony experienced its first ever drive-by shooting as Trish rolled past firing a water gun.

Friday saw Shepard engage in some pre-emptive self-defence, checking the road was its usual empty self before unloading with a small water pistol of her own, her aim in serious need of improvement.

It was a good thing there was no school on Saturday or who knows what form of retaliation it might have brought. Before they could get to the weekend however there was still one more day to get through and Friday night was Fight Night on Mindoir, always had been always will be.

...

All other considerations faded as Nicola felt the familiar pre-fight buzz, unlike the other, more recent butterflies, these jitters were old friends and she knew just how to handle them.

Everything always seemed to just click into place as she shadow boxed in the dressing room, the calm before the storm. Her storm. Every tingle of nerves cast into the pit of her stomach then wrangled under control, converted into raw energy and tempered, ready to be unleashed upon her opponent.

Tonight it was Guzman. 5-3-1. Not her record, _**their**_ record.

It had been nearly a year since they last fought, but there were only so many amateur fighters in her age and weight class on Mindoir, rematches were common. So far Nikki was in the lead against this particular rival and she intended to keep it that way.

Familiar music blasted out and she started her walk to the ring, the sights and sounds of the crowd washing over her like a tidal wave. It was an experience that had swept her up and nearly drowned her on her debut years ago, but now she was more experienced and knew how to flow with it, to be carried along in the current while keeping her head above the water. Through the ropes, through the intros, through the referee's final instructions.

"... and no naughties with the head. Good luck, shake hands and back to your corners." The bell rang and suddenly there was no crowd, no thoughts, there was only her and her opponent.

Double jab, right cross, duck beneath a hook, body shot while you're down there and rise with an uppercut. Everything flowed smoothe.

Guzman landed a couple of shots on her gloves but Shepard fired right back.

_On your toes, on your toes. Box, box, box_.

She wasn't even sure if the corner was shouting or if the familiar mantra was replaying in her mind from all the times it had been drummed into her through the years.

The bell rang.

"Looking sharp kid. Her right hand guard's starting to drop low but don't fall for it, remember that's how she got you last year."

Bell.

Punch and move and block and counter and duck and move and punch.

Over and over, a constantly moving, constantly changing flow and... bell.

"Hey Nikki!" She peered out the ring at the shout from her younger brother, "Del Toro just walked in."

She shouldn't have looked. It didn't matter who was watching, even if it _**was**_ Mindoir's biggest boxing legend turned promoter. All that mattered in a fight was what was in the ring, she _knew_ that, but still she turned her head to look.

"Oi, focus!" The slap from her coach brought her attention back forward but not before she caught the faintest glimpse of blond.

A second later her head was turning back round as her brain registered it. Blondes were rare, the only one she'd ever seen in person was... Alice, and there right beside her sat Trish. She felt her stomach do a summersault.

The bell rang.

Her mind raced. _What was Trish doing here?_ Neither of them had mentioned the fight. _Had she?_ Then again it was hardly a secret that she boxed, she'd been boxing for years.

_Come on, Trish might not even be here for you._

_What for Guzman?_

_No stupid! But there's plenty other fights, she might just be here as a generic fan, there ARE fight nights here every week._

Punches were coming through now that she would have avoided normally, her fists fighting back on autopilot. A big right hook stumbled her back a couple paces into the ropes, a cut opening up over her eyebrow.

It woke her up and she managed to turn her opponent, landing a couple of shots of her own before dancing away.

The bell rang.

"What the hell was that kid?"

By rights she knew she should have got another wake up slap, but the coach was too busy working on the cut with cotton swabs. No medigel allowed, traditional cut stopping techniques only until the match was over.

"Come on Nikki!" She recognised her father's voice at ringside, caught sight of the telltale orange glow of an omni-tool. "I didn't bribe those nurses so your mother could watch you lose!"

Those words seemed to have the desired effect and the last round was better, focusing on her opponent and casting away all other thoughts once more, although she never quite got back into the rhythm of the first two rounds. As the bell rang for the final time the referee had no hesitation raising her hand, the roar of the crowd lifting her even higher.

"Trish! What are you doing here?" The boxer asked after fighting her way through the crowd, adrenaline still pumping through her veins.

"Supporting our Henry here on his debut." She nodded down at a small boy, his bright blond hair leaving no doubt which of the girls he was related to. "We were just on our way out when they announced you. You were pretty impressive."

"Nah, I was way off in the last two rounds. You should see me when you're not watching!" Before anyone could comment on the wording they were interrupted by the rest of the Shepard clan.

"Nikki, get over here! Mom wants a word."

She flashed an apologetic smile at Trish and after confirming their original plans for the weekend were still a go, the teenagers went their separate ways.


	5. Chapter 5

The lights and noise of the machines clamored for attention as they strolled hand in hand through the arcade, making detours occasionally whenever a game caught their eye.

Driving, shooting, air hockey, pinball, they might not have used every machine in the place but from a category standpoint they pretty much played them all.

"Aww, that's cute." Trish exclaimed suddenly as they passed a claw machine filled with stuffed toys.

"Do you want it?" Nicola asked, fishing into her pocket for some tokens. Before she could protest, Shepard had already begun maneuvering the joystick.

Despite her reservations that the machines were always rigged, Trish couldn't help feel a small thrill of hope and anticipation as the claw descended around the purple penguin plushy, replaced by a wave of disappointment as the talons scraped over the toy, rising empty handed.

She released a soft sigh, preparing to walk on, but Nikki was already slotting in another token.

...

"Are you always this stubborn?" Trish asked as she leant against the glass of a neighboring machine. They were nearly out of tokens, or at least, Nikki was almost out.

She had offered the other girl a chance to use some of her tokens a couple of times but had been declined. She was pretty sure if she was here with friends or family she would have walked off in frustrated boredom by now.

"Probably" Nikki shrugged, waiting for the empty claw to rise once more before glancing over, a guilty look suddenly shooting across her face. "Sorry, this can't be much fun for you, what do you wanna do?"

_Oh it's not SO bad,_ Trish found herself thinking. _At least I have something cute and adorable to look at... and I'm_ _ **not**_ _talking about the stuffed animals_. She nearly said it as well, but what came out was: "Can I have a go?"

Surprise flashed across Shepard's face, she hesitated a moment as if she was about to say something before shrugging and waving her forward.

"Stand there." Trish commanded, pointing to a specific spot. Suspicion flashed across the youngster's face but she did as she was told, just so happening to cut off the security camera's view of Trish as she activated her omni-tool.

"You're not!?" Nicola's eyes jumped wide in surprise.

"What? It's not _really_ stealing, we paid more for the tokens than the toy's worth."

Nikki couldn't think of anything to say as a blue and cream striped tiger arose in a metal embrace, making its way across the container and dropping into the reward chute. Trish knelt down to claim her prize, large grin plastered across her face. It faded as she stood, turning towards Nikki, noticing the incredulous look frozen on her face.

Perhaps she'd gone too far hacking the machine. _Was it the questionable morality of the act? Or did Nikki think she was showing off? Or showing her up when she'd just spent so much time and money trying to win the traditional, legal way? Or..._

While her brain careened around at a hundred miles an hour her body continued functioning alone. An eyebrow arched and she shook the toy, all of a sudden a laugh broke out, her girlfriend's face collapsing into a smile.

"Well _**I**_ could have got the tiger, I thought you wanted a penguin."

...

They fell panting and laughing onto their backs at the top of a hill. Even though she'd been the one to start the trouble Trish was struggling to understand how quickly things had escalated, how easy it had been to get caught up in the thrill of the illicit.

When the arcade's security finally cottoned on to them and she'd yelled to run she certainly hadn't expected Nikki to throw the giant pink bunny at a guard. The rest of the plush prizes had quickly followed suit, thrown into the air to provide a distraction as they legged it.

She let her head drop to the side, taking in the heavy rise and fall of Nikki's chest, her face flushed with exertion.

The youngster's head likewise twisted to face her, smiling as she lifted her far hand up, showing off the purple penguin gripped victoriously within.

...

"You keep looking at it, does it bother you?" Nick was still on her back but Trish had rolled onto her side, she forced her gaze away from the cut eyebrow from the fight last night. She hadn't realised her stares had been that obvious.

"Not really. Does it hurt?"

"Not really."

"So... do you _enjoy_ getting punched in the face?"

Nikki chuckled faintly.

"I like _boxing_ , usually I try and do this thing where I avoid getting punched back too much."

"What went wrong?" Trish asked, reaching out a hand and lightly tracing the cut. Nikki's breath hitched slightly at the contact.

"I got distracted."

"So are you saying this is my fault?" They both seemed unaware of how the distance between their bodies was slowly reducing a fraction at a time.

"I wouldn't blame you exactly." Nikki's heart was racing as she gazed into bright blue eyes.

"No? You just think it would be safer if I wasn't there in future."

"I think it was more 'cos I wasn't expecting to see you. Why? Do you want to watch me get beaten up?"

"That depends how distracting you think I'll be, you could always try doing that thing where you don't get punched." Trish teased, closing the remaining distance and placing her lips to the wound. "There, all better."

It had been perfectly chaste, more of a peck than anything sensual, but as she pulled away she noticed an unfocused look to Nikki's eyes.

"You know they have medigel for that right?" Nicola murmured quietly but she didn't sound entirely with it.

"Hey, you ok?" Trish asked softly, suddenly worried. Nikki had been so confident and sure all day that she'd forgotten about the younger girl's inexperience and nerves. The full extent of the physicality in their relationship so far had been hand holding, arm punching and shoulder nudging. She watched as the shock slowly faded into a smile.

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine..." The smile suddenly changed from shy wonderment to a cocky grin. "Next time I'll have to try for a busted lip!"

"That can be arranged!" Trish laughed in relief, cocking a fist and winding it back playfully before opening it back up and laying the palm against Nikki's cheek. She tilted her head, gaze flickering between brown eyes and lush lips as she asked the silent question.

Heart pounding so hard she felt sure it was trying to escape via her throat, Nikki swallowed nervously, giving a slight nod of consent.

Trish was slow and cautious as she closed the gap once more, searching the younger girl's eyes for hesitation or discomfort, any sign she'd changed her mind.

There was a moment of rigidity as her lips pressed against the sophomore's, no more response than if she were practicing against a mirror or arm. Just as she wondered if she'd made a mistake there was movement as Nikki copied the elder's actions, hesitant and uncertain but very much willing as they gently pressed their lips together.


	6. Chapter 6

One of the arcade security guards had recognised Nikki from boxing. _T_ _he price of fame,_ she thought bitterly as she sat on the couch with the cops questioning her.

She admitted to getting frustrated about sinking nearly double the credits that the prize was worth without reward and resorting to hacking the machine.

Described how surprised she'd been that it had worked and how she'd got carried away by the thrill of it.

Argued that by throwing the toys away before leaving the building they hadn't **technically** removed them from the property and so it wasn't _**really**_ stealing. Even offering them the chance to search the house for proof (Luckily Percy the purple penguin was stashed on the other side of town with Trish).

Before finally explaining how she had since deleted the hacking program from her omni-tool.

Fortunately the burly security guard she'd 'assaulted' didn't want to press charges, presumably not wanting to give evidence in court about how a girl had knocked him over by throwing a giant, fluffy, pink bunny rabbit toy at him.

Throughout it all Nikki kept her eyes on the floor in shame.

The shame was genuine enough, she had felt the wave of disappointment that washed through her father when the police had made their purpose at the house known, but it was also in the hope they wouldn't catch her lying through her teeth... so far no-one had been able to identify Trish.

"If you didn't know her before that day then why were you hanging around together?"

"She's pretty, why wouldn't I agree if she asked to hang round with me?"

After a long, disbelieving silence in which she refused to break, everybody looked over to Thomas. Nikki with bated breath.

"I'm sorry, I've not been paying as much attention as I should to who the kids have been hanging around with lately. That **will** be changing obviously." Nikki was careful not to allow the relief to show on her face, at various points of her life her father had claimed he would always be there for all his children, but she hadn't been convinced that would include lying to the police on their behalf. 

_No,_ she suddenly realised with even more pride, _technically NOT lying. Just being extremely careful with the use of words. He didn't actually clarify_ _ **what**_ _he was sorry about, or explicitly state he didn't know who she was with._

In the end she was lucky; her young age, never being in trouble with the law before, the rest of the Shepard clan's pristine records and good standing within the community, her willingness to admit guilt and show remorse, ( _outstanding acting skills),_ and extenuating circumstances ( _you what?)_ allowed her to escape with a ban from the arcade, a note on her file that would disappear when she reached 18 if she hadn't committed any further crimes and whatever punishment her parents deemed suitable.

Nikki stayed in the lounge as her father showed the police out, one of the officers lingered and she could hear their conversation in the hall.

"Thanks for using the kid gloves Ken, I appreciate it."

"No problem Tom, can't be easy for them with Hannah in the hospital." 

_Wait, that's the extenuating circumstances? That's not why-_ Nicola nearly stormed out to inform them her actions had nothing to do with Mom, but was wise enough to stay put. She was in enough trouble right now.

"How is she?"

"Good... I think. Shouldn't be too much longer before she can come home." There was an almost disbelieving chuckle and Nikki could picture her father shaking his head. "Strange to think aliens hadn't even been discovered when we got married, now they're helping us produce experimental treatments for medical conditions that don't even affect non-humans."

"Welcome to the new age, Tom. Sure as hell beats shooting the crap out of each other."

...

It was a couple of days later that the red convertible crunched its way up the drive. Nikki had been rather despondent since being grounded but had yet to voice a complaint. Thomas was finding it rather difficult, he'd always felt his role as father was to make his family happy.

Sure some would argue that his role should have been to raise them into responsible adults, and he tried to do that too, but it simply ate him up inside that his child's misery was a result of his actions.

It would have been easier if she'd shouted and screamed at him about it not being fair, that way he could put his foot down and point out that actually, nearly being arrested really did warrant some kind of punishment. But she just accepted her fate in silence and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out.

It hadn't taken long for the missed calls and messages to start piling up on her confiscated omni-tool, all from the same number.

He hadn't opened any of them but the subject headings had progressed from the likes of 'hey', through to 'are you OK?' and finally into 'at least tell me you're not dead?'

He'd almost felt sorry for the girl on the other end until he remembered she was the reason his darling daughter was in this mess in the first place. Not even dating for a fortnight and he was already getting a visit from the police, that was beyond unacceptable.

He caught the brief glimmer of hope and happiness that shone in Nicola's eyes at the sound of the car but as she looked at him and saw his face and body language practically demanding: 'stay inside while I deal with this' the light had faded from her face and she slunk off to her room.

...

Thomas stood with his arms folded outside the front door, watching the teenager carefully. He recognised her from that day in the field and was regretting ever having pointed her out to his daughter. She was older than Nikki and had a confident air about her, that had probably helped with leading his daughter astray. When it became apparent he wasn't going to speak and no-one else was coming out the brunette's confidence seemed to fade ever so slightly and she tentatively made her approach.

"Hi, is Nikki there?" He nodded his head in silence, it was a couple more beats before, clearly struggling to retain an eye roll, she asked: "Well can I see her?"

"She's grounded."

A couple of emotions passed over the teen's face, among them relief and understanding that her messages hadn't simply been ignored. She limited her response to a simple:

"Why?"

"We had a visit from the police, she confessed to hacking the machines in the arcade." He shrugged as if it was nothing, keeping his tone neutral, trying not let his anger out.

"What!? Why? She didn't..." The confusion faded into something stronger as the brunette straightened and looked him in the eye. "Well you can stop punishing her Sir. She didn't do it, I did."

"If she didn't do it then she lied, and is still grounded." Thomas stated evenly, still managing to hide his emotions.

He'd been certain Nikki hadn't done it but had no choice but to punish her when she confessed. Now his mind couldn't decide whether to be relieved that she was innocent or frustrated that she'd been willing to risk everything for this good for nothing temptress. _Who would have got off scott-free if she hadn't just come clean to you... Dammit, they're as bad as each other!_

It was all too easy as children to get carried away and have little pranks snowball in severity, he recalled a few the boys had got caught up in, and as for his own youth... He suppressed a sigh, analyzing the girl in front of him's reaction as he tested: "Would you be willing to repeat that in front of police officers?"

...

"What you doing?" The enquiry came round the open door frame, aimed at the disgruntled body flopped on its back on the bed.

"Nothin', I'm grounded ain't I." Came the reply before Nicola suddenly shot up into a sitting position, eyes wide in surprise as her brain suddenly processed what her ears had heard. "Trish! What are you doing here?"

"Your father let me in." Confusion swept across the youngster's face.

"So... am I not grounded anymore?"

"Oh no, you're still grounded, but your dad felt I should remind you that the exact wording of your punishment was that you were 'confined to the farm except when required to leave for school or work' and _**apparently**_ the farm is pretty big..."


	7. Chapter 7

"What do you mean you can't swim?" The shocking revelation had Nikki pushing herself up onto her elbows as she glanced across at her girlfriend beside her, sunbathing in one of the already harvested fields.

"I... can't swim! What's so hard to understand?"

"But... it's swimming. How can you not know how to swim?" Nicola seemed to be having difficulty grasping the concept and her lack of understanding was pushing Trish on to the defensive about the perceived defect.

"Do **you** know the Sidonis-Kader algorithm?"

"No, but a) that's complicated, and b) I'm not going to drown if I don't know it."

"Hey I know how to not drown! I just can't swim." They sat staring at each other, both unwilling to either back down or apologise before Nikki suddenly jumped up, offering her hand out.

"That's it, come on. I'm teaching you to swim."

"What, now? Come on Nick, you're still grounded."

...

"It'll be **fine**! Stop worrying and come on." Thomas heard his daughter's protests in the background as he answered him omni-tool.

"Hey Mr Shepard," Trish's voice rung out once he'd made his presence on the call known. "We were just wondering if the lake counts as being on the farm?"

_'We'? Didn't sound much like a joint decision to check to me._ He paused thoughtfully, ownership of the lake had always been an iffy subject with the local landowners, it had eventually been decided that each farm's territory ended at their respective bank and the lake itself would be usable by all but owned by none. _Which Nikki knows!_

He was glad his talk with the older girl seemed to be having the desired effect but his own daughter seemed to be more and more willing to push at the boundaries set upon her. He couldn't just back down, she still had another week of being grounded left, but at the same time he remembered how every time his own parents had imposed limits on him as a kid it had just made him more resentful and rebellious.

"Officially it's not Trish. However since you were both good enough to check," he knew Nicola hadn't planned to, he also knew she could hear him and that the perceived assumption that she'd always do the right thing would guilt trip her into doing right next time far more effectively than reprimanding her for not. "I think as long as Nikki doesn't touch any other bank but ours then an argument could be made that she hasn't stepped anywhere that isn't the farm."

"Thanks Mr Shepard you're the best!"

...

"This is NOT a good idea Nikki. What if something goes wrong?"

"Come on, you told me you knew how to not drown!" The youngster teased, treading water several feet away from the bank. She became serious as she saw the brunette still standing, fully clothed on the edge of the bank and swam back over to her, tapping the top of her foot. "Hey, sit down a moment so I can reach."

She smiled as Trish complied, stretching one wet hand out the water to hold her girlfriend's dry one.

"Look, I'm not going to pull you in here or make you do anything you're not comfortable with, but I promise you you'll be safe. I won't let anything happen to you." Her other hand had come up to gently caress a cheek and Trish impulsively leant forward for a kiss, Shepard's body lifting slightly out the water as she happily reciprocated.

Suddenly Trish felt a damp hand push her chest back as Nikki pulled away from her lips with a smirk. "Careful, don't want you falling in... Just think about it ok? I'm going to swim over to the other side and when I get back either I've gotta get out or you're coming in."


	8. Chapter 8

Trish had quickly become a regular at the Shepard farmstead and Thomas soon found his initial misgivings fading. It was clear that both teens were happy together and the older girl had obviously taken his words to heart. It couldn't have been easy for them to spend the start of their relationship confined to the farm, unable to get away and do the typical dating things and yet the Stewart girl hadn't moved on to easier pickings like he'd half expected her to.

His other worry, that Nicola would stop working in order to spend more time with her girlfriend, was also proving to be unfounded. Instead they settled into something of a routine, Trish turning up just before lunch so they could spend the break together then when the farmhands returned to work sometimes she'd drive off, returning again in the evening, but more often she'd sit at the side of the field with a datapad or fiddling with her omni-tool until Nikki was finished for the day. It was no real hardship to make another portion of the evening meal, after all John's girlfriend was often present as well and they had the option of eating out.

The two girls would often join in with family game nights, go out together around the farm or just head up to Nikki's room to chill out. Admittedly that last, (ok and quite often the second) would involve a silent warning look from him to the elder but... Thomas took a quick glance at the clock before returning his attention to the pouring rain outside the window, the girls were cutting it very close.

The school holidays were in full swing by the time Nikki's punishment expired and Thomas made sure she got plenty of days off. It would have been so easy for them to go overboard with their new found freedom and it was true they spent as much time as possible out and about; town, the drive-thru and god knows where else, but there had been no more brushes with the law and they always made it back on time.

Although thinking about it that may have been in part due to the lack of an actual curfew. He was pretty certain: 'Be back by a sensible time' and 'let me know if you change your plans' didn't exactly count. It was just typical that the one day they'd been given a deadline, it looked like they wouldn't make it.

He finally caught sight of two shapes running towards the house, an implosion of noise as they burst through the door, their clothes saturated and hair drenched from the storm outside.

"You're late."

"What? No! You said 3 o'clock, it's only seven minutes to!" His dripping daughter protested vehemently.

"I said we were leaving at three. You need to have a shower and a change of clothes or you'll catch cold. There's not enough time." He softened his voice. "I'm sorry Nikki, we won't be long."

" **It's not fair!** "

He bit back a chuckle. Grounded, omni-tool confiscated and a note on her police file for masterminding a crime she was merely accomplice to, not a peep. Not allowed to come to the spaceport... Well at least she had her priorities straight.

He looked at the soaked through Trish: "Make sure you both get clean and dry." She nodded and he turned away before pausing to shout over his shoulder, "and make sure you use **separate** showers!"

As he headed towards the car where the boys were already strapped in waiting, he could hear the older girl trying to calm Nikki down and lead her upstairs, but mostly he could hear his daughter:

"But we were on time! It's not fair, it's not my fault. I didn't make it rain on the way back... Hang on... What was he going on about separate showers for? How else are we supposed to shower?"

...

The flickering light of the TV screen provided enough illumination to see the sleeping teens curled up together on the sofa, they looked so peaceful and content. If the quiet giggling of his sons as they crept into the room was anything to go by it wouldn't last long.

They paused, looking not quite over at him for a moment before jumping the girls, his eldest pulling Trish out of the melee with a hand over her mouth.

The sibling play fighting had been all fun and games for years but they had quickly learnt that any suggestion of Trish being hurt or upset removed all trace of friendliness from Nikki.

Speaking of his daughter, she finally noticed the other details of the room, releasing Mark from a headlock with a shove to keep him away from her as she lurched over in roughly his direction with young Kevin still clinging to her shoulders.

" **Mom!** " Thomas winced slightly as she practically collapsed around the wheelchair enveloping the woman inside in a tight hug before springing back as if she'd been shocked. "I didn't hurt you did I? Sorry-"

"It's fine Nick, it'll take more than that to hurt me."

"She _means_ , she's on so much pain medication she can't feel a thing." Thomas corrected.

"Careful darling, _**you**_ can still feel pain." His wife countered threateningly before turning her attention upon the stranger in the room.

In any other circumstance she would have been furious at the sight of someone elbowing her son hard enough for him to double up, but considering the awakening she'd just witnessed she'd make a one time exception.

"Are you going to introduce your friend to me Nikki?"

"This is my _**girlfriend**_ Trish. Trish this is my horrible, evil mother." The older girl's lips twitched as she held back a smile, both at the chosen emphasis and the obvious affection she'd already seen on display for the 'evil' woman.

"Nice to meet you ma'am."

"Ma'am? Such manners, you must be new here. Hannah's fine. If I want to feel old I'll look at this rabble. Now then, I suppose congratulations are in order." Trish was wondering about the use of the word 'suppose' when she realised the conversation was no longer aimed at her but the woman's husband. "You didn't kill any of them while I was away after all..."

"Mom thought you'd been food poisoned to death in the car." Kevin told Nikki in a very loud whisper. "That's why you weren't with us, dad had deaded you."

"Killed Kevin, not deaded, that's not a real word. I thought your dad had 'killed' her."

"It doesn't matter what the word is." Thomas interrupted, noticing the guilt and regret rising on his daughter's face at not being there. "And my cooking is not that bad!"

"Well you know what they say, 'whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger'." John joined in on teasing his father and if she hadn't spent so much time around the Shepards Trish would have been either very confused or rather worried. She thought Thomas's cooking was actually pretty good, but then again she also knew the family were always joking about.

"Oh I know all about that, I've been on hospital food for months now. I think I'm capable of making an accurate judgement as to which is worse. All I need is a sample, care to make us some dear?"

"As long as you're sure your life insurance is up to date then fine." Thomas added to the jokes being fired at his expense, "Shepherd's pie coming right up. Staying Trish?"

...

"I thought Shepherd's pie was made with potato?" Trish murmured quietly to Nikki as she looked at her plate and the chicken, mushroom and cheese pie wrapped in puff pastry upon it. She was surprised to feel her girlfriend stiffen beside her but before she could analyse what she'd said or done wrong they were interrupted.

"I'm a Shepard Trish, any pie I make is Shepherd's pie." Thomas retorted, her remark clearly not as quiet as she'd hoped. There were groans in all directions from the children at the terrible dad joke and Hannah simply shook her head with a smile. The incident put her firmly in the spotlight however as her girlfriend's mother turned to address her.

"So, I'm curious Trish... baseball bat or shovel?"

"Erm, what?" Now she was really confused. The comment came completely out of nowhere and without a sense of context she wasn't entirely sure whether or not she was being threatened.

"My daughter. Did you hit her round the head with a baseball bat or a shovel?" There was a groan beside her and a quick glance to the side revealed a reddening Nikki hiding her head in her hands. "She was pretty oblivious and hopeless when I left, you must have done something to get her attention."

"My car _**may**_ have purposefully broken down on the way to school so I could talk to her."

"And that was enough?" There was clear disbelief in the woman's voice and Trish was inclined to be offended on her girlfriend's behalf until she remembered just how awkward and naive Nikki had been. She caught sight of the silent 'kill me now' Nick mouthed across the table to her amused brothers and their subtle but delighted shakes of the head.

"Well... It worked the second time..."

Hannah laughed. "Oh, I like you."

It was as if a weight had been lifted from the collective shoulders of the people around the table and they all started breathing again. Which was absurd because Trish hadn't even been aware of any tension until it lifted.

"Well I guess it's official then," Thomas stated, "you're part of the flock now."

Groans and insults were hurled through the air in response to the pun but Trish didn't care, her attention caught by Nicola's shy smile.


	9. Chapter 9

Nikki had struggled to come up with present ideas for Trish's birthday. Sure she'd bought her stuff before but that was different, that was little spur of the moment things on random, insignificant days. This was the first time she'd had to get her girlfriend something for a specified gift giving day. A day with expectations around it and other people around to judge her on them. In the end she'd settled for two gifts, a small piece of jewelry her mom had helped pick and a book.

She'd liked the stupid book idea at the time, thought it would be a laugh, but now as she glanced round at Trish's extended friends and family she was getting somewhat nervous; there was a slight possibility of the book getting her slapped.

While the Shepards were a large but compact, tight knit family, the Stewarts were the opposite. Normally it was just Trish and her Mum on Mindoir but the event had pulled in relatives from across the galaxy and it was the first time Nicola had seen most of them.

"Your uncle's sorry he couldn't be here but he couldn't get leave so soon after the promotion." Somebody informed the birthday girl, handing over a well wrapped box as Nikki snuck closer to the central group.

"It's ok, I understand. The Alliance-" An involuntary gasp cut off Trish's reply as she opened the gift. "If he sends presents like this he can miss ALL my birthdays!"

For a brief moment Shepard found herself pulled by conflicting emotions, happiness at the obvious joy on her girlfriend's face and a twinge of jealousy that it hadn't been her to cause it.

The jealousy faded quickly however as Trish entered full geek mode, excitedly spouting off facts and figures concerning the new top of the range omni-tool she was in the process of attaching to her wrist. Her old model placed carefully, almost reverently, into the box for safe keeping.

As Nikki looked at some of the other already open presents, many of which had a decidedly 'stereotypical 17th birthday present for girls' feel about them, she was glad at least one of Trish's distant relatives had paid attention to her girlfriend's actual interests.

" **Nikki!** " Her wandering attention was pulled back in a rush as Trish finally noticed her and launched herself into the youngster's arms, Nicola having to twist them both into a twirl to prevent the momentum knocking them over.

"Happy Birthday beautiful." The resulting kiss caused Nikki to blush, not from the public display of affection itself, but rather the assorted noises from the assembled adults which mostly consisted of themes along the lines of 'Aww!' A shy smile graced her lips as they rested their foreheads together, fingers brushing as she passed the smaller of the two parcels over. Trish barely had time to flick a finger under the first strip of sellotape before they were interrupted by a twenty-something year old male.

"Your mum says it's time for the cake. Presents were supposed to be handed in to the table." He directed the last bit at Nikki, conveniently overlooking the many gifts already handed directly to the birthday girl by guests.

"I'll go when I'm ready, a few minutes difference won't be the end of the world." Trish stated, shooting a withering glare at the older relative.

"But your mum said-" The death stare proving ineffective she looked apologetically at Nikki before gesturing at the larger, hard looking package the younger girl was still holding.

"Is that breakable?" Nicola shook her head bemused, offering no resistance as Trish took it gently from her before spinning round and thumping the man on the shoulder. "Sean. {thunk} Leave {thunk} us {thunk} alone. I'll be there {thunk} when I'm {thunk} ready."

He grabbed the makeshift bludgeon and hurried away, depositing it on the relevant table among a pile of other gifts. Trish twisted back round to her girlfriend with a sigh, completely missing the amused sparkle in the eyes and the way Nicola had to bite her lip to hold back the laughter as she launched into an apology.

"Don't worry about it." Nikki interrupted popping a finger on the elder girl's lips to shut her up. "At least I know you're making good use of my present." Her smirk was returned by a groan. "Come on, we should head over."

"Not yet. I want to open this first." She held up the small parcel, unwrapping it carefully while Nikki watched nervously. Wrapping paper removed, she glanced up at Nikki's face as she popped the jewelry box lid up, eyes dropping down to look inside. "It's beautiful..." She lifted the chain out, cupping the pendant in her palm as she inspected it closer. "What is it?"

With an incredible display of self-control and tremendous willpower Nikki managed to refrain from the obvious reply of 'a necklace', and the almost as bad answer of 'a heart and crown'. For once actually responding to the question somebody meant to ask rather than the words they uttered, knowing her partner was referring to the strange green and yellow 'gem' in the centre.

"It's heather. Dyed and pressed together, each one's supposed to be unique." Trish held the necklace out, lifting up her hair with her other hand and Nikki obeyed the unspoken command to put it round her neck. "Do you like it?"

"I love it. Thank you"

...

Nikki hadn't intended to abandon her girlfriend. She'd stepped away for a brief moment to get some juice and when she came back the birthday girl had been abducted by yet another group of relatives.

She wandered around the party, completely at a loss what to do before catching sight of the telltale blond hair of a member of the Cooper family. Strolling over she was pleased to find Alice and others from school that she could actually talk to without risk of upsetting some strange family power balance.

The peace didn't last long however. Her name being yelled was both the first she knew of the fact that Trish had started opening more presents, and the sole warning before she was hit from over twenty feet away by a copy of 'The Beginner's Guide to Car Mechanics'. Alice was the first to move, picking the book off the floor and chuckling when she saw what it was.

"How dead am I?" Nikki asked as the blonde looked over her shoulder towards the birthday girl.

"Well... she's smiling now at least, but I'd watch out if I were you." Nikki nodded glumly but the older girl's prophecy was forgotten about by the next day.

It took a while longer for her to learn that her girlfriend was of the 'forgive but don't forget' variety, Trish waiting until Nicola's own birthday before enacting her revenge.

Despite being the more significant number of 'Sweet Sixteen' Nikki's party was a much smaller affair, nobody flying in from offworld to see her. She was however surrounded by her family at the dinner table when she opened a birthday book of her own, to everyone else's great amusement... 'Flirting for Dummies'.


	10. Chapter 10

[Can you pick me up?] Nikki was already attempting to remember where she left her car keys, smiling as she typed a response to her girlfriend.

[Your wish is my command :) Where are you?] Keys in hand she cast about for socks and shoes, pulling them on as her omni-tool buzzed.

[Home. Don't get out the car, be ready to hit the gas.] Nick frowned as she left the house, ever since her birthday they'd been splitting driving duties but something didn't feel right.

[I'm on my way. What's happened?]

There was no reply.

Not for the first time Nikki found herself cursing the distance between their houses as her imagination span out of control. Stopped at a junction she tried again.

[Trish? You ok?]

...

Nikki's heart was in her mouth as she cruised down the drive, nerves tense and senses straining, not knowing what to expect but ready for anything. Her eyes searched the shadows for danger, or for Trish, she wasn't sure which, but there was no sign of either.

The house seemed silent, a single light on downstairs as she pulled up outside. She reached for her omni-tool to send a message that she was here but her girlfriend burst through the front door before she'd even started typing.

Moments later a tall silhouette was visible in the hallway, an utterly bewildered Nikki shouting a warning. Trish didn't even break her stride, omni-tool glowing orange as her fingers slid over the interface, the door behind her shutting with a hiss seconds before the figure reached it.

"Go!" Trish practically threw herself inside the car, Shepard obeying automatically despite having no idea what was going on.

A small amount of relief filled her when the person locked inside the house started shouting. While not easing her confusion it put paid to some of the more nightmarish scenarios concocted by her brain on the way over when she was finally able to identify Mrs Stewart's frustrated tones:

"Trish get back here! Patricia Stewart! **Nikki!** "

...

"Thanks for the rescue." Nikki had been casting occasional side glances at her partner the entire drive, but it wasn't until she pulled into an empty car park on the top of a hill that Trish broke her silence.

"Anytime... What was all that about?" Nikki jerked her head back the way they'd come but Trish shook her head with a sigh, reaching out to trace Nikki's face.

"Nothing... Please? I don't want to have to think about it just yet." The lie was as obvious as the fact that she saw right through it but Nikki merely nodded after a brief hesitation.

"Ok..." She struggled to think of another topic to discuss. "What was that thing you did with your omni-tool? All the doors flashed red."

"Mid range burst to override all the doors on a specified frequency, can be set to open or lock."

"Really? You managed that from your omni-tool? How's it work?" Nicola knew if she could get her girlfriend talking about tech she'd speak and think about nothing else. It was the perfect distraction. Unfortunately the older girl misread her intentions.

"Oh no! Your dad will **kill** me if I teach you that!"

"What you're allowed it but I'm not?"

"Hey neither of us is exactly allowed it." Trish admitted. "But I got bored and wanted to see if I could make the software from scratch. There's hundreds of downloadable lock hacking programs on the dark net so I knew it _**could**_ be done, I just had to work out the necessary coding. You see each lock manufacturer has about twenty different..."

...

"My mum's got a new job..." They'd been out for hours now, one distraction leading to another until they descended back into silence, led on the grass watching the stars. Apparently Trish was finally ready to face facts. "It's... it's on Earth."

The hand that had been tracing circles on her shoulder paused a moment as Nikki processed the information, Trish rolling over to face her.

"I don't want to go."

"Then don't. Stay here with me."

"I can't Nikki. I want to, but I can't."

"You're seventeen, you can do what you want!"

"Not according to the law. Systems Alliance parliament dictates the age of human majority is eighteen-"

"Screw the Alliance, this is Mindoir. Look if you need a guardian then ask my parents, you can stay with us. They'll agree to it, I know they will."

"It's not that simple Nick."

"Then I'll come with you!"

"And do what? There's no farms left on Earth Nikki and even if there were, you're even younger than me."

"We'll figure something out. Don't worry, there's still time to come up with a plan... I'll think of something..."


	11. Chapter 11

Thomas Shepard sighed as he watched his daughter sitting a short distance away from the rest of the farm workers during the lunch break. She had been moody and detached ever since the Stewart family had left Mindoir. It was understandable, Trish had been her first love.

Thomas wondered if it was his fault, he had pushed her to talk to the other girl, encouraged her to give it a go... No, the time they'd spent together had been the happiest he'd ever seen her, that was NOT something he was going to feel guilty about. First heartbreak was something just about everybody had to go through at some point, it was just unfortunate that they'd been pulled apart before their feelings had a chance to run the course.

His ruminations were broken as people started standing and pointing, a shape growing bigger against the sky. They weren't due a supply drop for another month, the weather forecasts hadn't predicted meteor showers, it was too big to be a shuttle, and Alliance ships always waited in orbit.

A separate shape became visible, then another.

Some of the men had their omni-tools out now, although he wasn't techie enough to know what they were doing.

"Batarians!" The call sent a chill down his spine.

Despite having lived most his life in a pre-contact galaxy he had done his best to raise his children to be free of prejudice, not to jump straight to stereotypes when dealing with people, but batarians? Multiple batarian ships entering atmosphere could mean only one thing. That wasn't being specieist, it was being a realist.

"Nikki!" In seconds his middle child and sole daughter was in front of him ready and alert. There was a pool of emotion behind her eyes but he didn't have time to analyse it. "Nick, go get your mother. Take her somewhere safe."

"What abo-" She tried to interrupt but Thomas guessed the question before she asked.

"I'll get the boys. We can all meet up later."

"Where?" A pause as he mentally flicked through possibilities. It needed to be defensible but escapable, hidden but where the whole family could find each other, and most of all, somewhere where the rest of the colony wouldn't run and lead the batarians right to them.

"Twelfth Birthday." A nod of understanding and she turned, sprinting away without another word.

...

Smoke clawed at her lungs as she ran through the house. Miss Mills would probably find it symbolic, the childhood home in flames as the last vestige of innocence and childish illusions came crashing down.

It would just be a number to Mr Turner, or possibly a venn diagram. 'Homes wrecked on a sunday' in one circle, 'buildings destroyed by fire' in the other.

Mrs Lewis probably wouldn't even consider it worth mentioning, just one more farm lost to conflict. Insignificant in the greater annals of history, a mere footnote to the raid.

A noise caught her attention. Glancing in its direction, the sight she was met with caused her heart to leap into her mouth, erupting forth in a panicked yell:

"Mom!"

"Get out of here Nikki!" Fear enabled the older woman to raise her voice louder than usual as she caught sight of her daughter through the smoke, moving closer to both her and the raging inferno behind her.

Nicola ignored her, crouching down and frantically clearing fallen debris off the elder woman.

It was a pointless action, it usually took Hannah several minutes to walk from one side of the house to the other with her sticks and that was without any additional hazards present. There wasn't time. Flames moving quicker than her emaciated legs could manage.

"No, I'm not fucking leaving you!"

"Language." Speaking hurt but the admonishment was instinctively on her lips before she could even think.

"I won't swear if you don't die." Nikki attempted to barter, throwing aside the last of the rubble and a wheezy chuckle escaped Hannah's lungs. Her daughter had a stubborn streak a mile wide and they didn't have time to argue, it was clear if she wanted her child to reach safety there was only one way it was going to happen. She mentally prepared herself for the agony that would come with moving.

"Deal."

...

"Nikki wait." For a moment Hannah thought the teenager wasn't going to listen as she glanced over and kept moving, one arm wrapped round her mother's waist, the other holding onto the arm responsible for shifting most of her weight onto the youngster's shoulders. Once they reached the shelter of the garden wall Nick stopped and helped her down into cover.

"We should head to the barn." Hannah pointed towards the relevant building, Nikki's gaze following her arm. "There's weapons there, we might need them."

' _Far away_ ', it wasn't a description Nicola had ever associated with the barn before, but she did now. ' _Wrong direction_ ' was another one. The pain and fatigue were obvious on her mother's face and they still had a long way to go. There was no point dragging her across there, it was too open, nowhere to take cover, would take longer and leave them further away from their objective than their current location.

However her mom had a point, she might not have any real weapons experience to speak of but today having guns might make the difference between life and death. Actually, neither of those options seemed so bad anymore. It might make the difference between liberty and slavery.

"I'll get them, wait here." Hannah opened her mouth to protest but Nikki beat her to it. "Take a moment to catch your breath. Dad said to meet him and the boys near Palmono point and we can't exactly drive up." _Even if the cars_ _ **weren't**_ _a blackened heap of burning metal._

"Ok, the locker code is 7-23-11-8." Hannah saw her daughter's lips move as she silently recited the numbers in an attempt to memorise them, then abruptly stop mid-cycle as she realised the link that would guarantee easy recollection. A single nod signified receipt of the information before looking analytically back across the empty yard.

"Stay down, I'll be right back." With that she turned, running towards the barn, ears filled with noise from the crackling fire and the distant sound of fighting from the direction of town. Her fellow Mindoirians clearly had no intention of simply surrendering to their fate.

Nikki's nerves strained in anticipation of the shouts of discovery or bark of much closer gunfire she expected to interrupt at any moment, but she made it to the heavy doors in one piece.

Despite never being allowed inside the gun cabinet, or perhaps because of that fact, Nikki knew exactly where it was located and headed straight there, inputting the code on the keypad. She was slightly surprised by just how many weapons there were inside, hunting rifles sitting side by side with shotguns for pest control and numerous pistols occasionally carried as personal protection if Thomas had to go into town when he knew a ship of less savory reputation was in port.

Nikki eyed the array before her, searching not for the prettiest or meanest looking weapon, but for any that felt familiar. There was no point taking a gun that looked like it could blow a hole in the wall if the recoil would break her wrist. No doubt if Kevin was here he would be spouting off the relevant stats for each weapon, her younger brother currently going through a gun craze phase, but she had to go off instinct and memory of a handful of glass bottle shooting, gun 'safety and respect' lessons.

In the end she settled for a couple of pistols and a shotgun having considered taking more but not wanting to weigh herself down too much. It would be a long trek to Palmono point and she would have to carry or at the very least support most of her mother's weight for a lot of it. Leaving her behind wasn't an option she even considered.

The weapons could still be useful to other people if they found them though. She didn't want to leave the chest open incase the batarians were the next ones to show up, but at the same time if they could help the colonists... Her eyes settled on a nearby datapad and decision made she scooped it up, closing the chest before typing out:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

John, Mark, Nikki and Kevin

Anyone who worked on the farm should be able to break the code, same with the neighbours and any friends of the family. It was the best she could do, with luck it would help someone.

She paused thoughtfully, she knew why her father had chosen the meeting place he did, he didn't want them in the middle of a group of refugees making a tempting target for the batarians to hunt down but... She added another line to her message:

The Shepard's invite you to celebrate Nikki's 12th birthday

It had been a small family affair, not many people knew the details. She hoped the second clue would be too cryptic for any casual passersby, but if any of her brothers turned up at the house without running into their dad on the way, and if they were sensible enough to check the barn, then they should know where to head next. Satisfied she saved the message, turned the datapad onto power save mode, placed it just above the keypad and left the building.

...

The cave was relatively hard to find if you didn't know where to look for it but remarkably easy to remember once you knew where it was. The giant stone with the lightning bolt shaped crack signified they were getting close and they headed to the left, (or east if giving instructions to people coming from differing directions). Two and a half minutes later Nikki disappeared, scouting the first tunnel before heading back to help her mother inside.

Hannah was clearly at the end of her endurance, the day's activities far surpassing the physios recommended limit of two to three hours walking or light exercise per day. It was pure Shepard stubbornness that kept her going now. Not so much her own but her daughter's.

It was a parent's duty to protect their children, but with no way to convince Nicola to leave her behind the only way to ensure her daughter's safety was to make it there herself. So she dug deep, each step a minor victory and a challenge to go one further until finally the rock opened up into a large cavern.

Nikki placed her carefully down on the ground, eyes searching for any external injuries before sweeping the cave. Bounding seemed the wrong word, there was no joy in her daughter's step as she moved briskly in an almost bounding like motion to the underground river that dissected their hideout, slowing only to collect a selection of metal cups left behind on a previous visit. Three mugs in each hand, dipping them into the water before hurrying back.

It was a battle of wills, pig headed versus stone headed.

In the end Nikki drank one cup to shut her mother up while forcing her to drink the other five, before heading back to refill them.

In retrospect it was a rather stupid and pointless display, it wasn't as if the water supply was limited, but they had each been caught up in caring, worrying for the other's wellbeing and wanting them to be taken care of first.

Hannah watched her daughter with a mixture of pride and concern as she crouched down at the river's edge.

...

 _Twelfth birthday_. _Dad said to meet up where we went for my twelfth birthday_. Nikki eyed the river speculatively, there was an underwater tunnel that led to an even deeper cavern. THAT had been what was special about her twelfth, being allowed down that passage for the first time, Thomas acknowledging that she was good enough, her lungs big enough, to make it through.

It would be even more secure in there. There was always a chance, no matter how remote, of someone or something stumbling into their current cave, but only a handful of local potholers knew about the other.

 _What if the others are already inside?_

There was no way her mother would be able to make it, not in her current state.

_I just need to know if they're in there, then I can come back and help Mom._

_**No**_ _._ The realisation hit her clearly.

Her family were either in there or they weren't, knowing wouldn't change the facts.

If they were then they'd be safe, if they weren't then she was just wasting time. She could check later but there were more important things to take care of first.

Decision made she downed another cup of water, refilling the whole set before making her way back to her mother.

...

Something had changed by the time her daughter stood back up. It was subtle, but as she strode towards her Hannah had a feeling she wasn't going to like what happened next.

It started off fine, Nikki making sure she was alright and as comfortable as possible, then she asked if she'd be ok on her own for a bit and Hannah felt her heart sink. After everything she'd gone through to make sure they got to safety, Nikki was going to head back out and she hadn't the strength left to stop her.

She'd protested of course, but her daughter calmly and rationally explained how she had to make sure they hadn't left any tracks for the batarians to follow.

How afterwards she was going to head up to the lodge a couple of miles away and see if she could find any supplies.

They had escaped the fire with their lives but nothing else and they'd need more than water to survive.

"Nicola..." It made sense but she'd be remiss if she didn't try one last time to keep her daughter safe.

Two years ago she would have been able to talk her out of it. Three years ago she still had the physical capabilities to stop her, but now... Nikki looked back at her unflinchingly with steely determination in her eyes and Hannah sighed.

"Be careful love, ok?"

The teenager nodded and Hannah was left alone with a pistol and six cups of water while her daughter strode out to face the chaos with a pistol, a shotgun and her wits.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for angst and emotional sucker punches. This is the Mindoir raid so there's going to be some violence and character death. The other archive warnings don't apply.

Trish had cried seemingly non-stop for days when her father died, breaking down as soon as she heard the news, but no tears fell for the people of Mindoir.

It was too big, too incomprehensible. 

She was in the school cafeteria when the breaking news came over the vid screens. At first she didn't pay much attention, food and social interaction was all that mattered to the hundreds of teenagers in the room and she was no exception until she heard the word 'Mindoir'. 

She froze in the queue until someone prodded her forward and she continued on autopilot, selecting a meal and making it back to her regular table, all the while completely numb to the outside world.

"Hey Trish, you ok?" One of her new friends asked and she nodded wordlessly, eyes not leaving the screen. Rachel turned to follow her gaze.

"Shit, you're from Mindoir aren't you?" Understanding and concern streaked across her face as Trish gave another nod. "You still got family there?" 

Trish shook her head, finally managing to force some words past her tight throat: "Mum's here on Earth, think today's Helsinki."

"Oh, that's alright then." Rachel flashed a reassuring smile and returned to her conversation, content in having done her part, unaware of the sheer depth of despair embroiling her friend. Trish's family might have been safe but what about Nikki? Alice? Henry? Taz? Mr Connor at the corner shop? Every friend and acquaintance she'd known, loved or hated in the past five years?

The first couple of days she lived with an optimistic sense of denial, hoping against hope that the people she cared about would be ok. Sure, there was bound to be some casualties in town, but the Alliance would respond and save the colony before anything bad could happen to her friends. 

That hope faded more each day as further reports came in. New Amsterdam, the youngest and southernmost settlement, was quickly reclaimed and had come out relatively unscathed, but the further north the rescue teams went the worse the reports got.

By the time she started recognising locations on the news it had been days without finding human survivors, everyone either dead or enslaved.

It had only been thirteen years since First Contact, but humanity had heard the horror stories about batarian slavers and now Trish found herself hoping with every fibre of her being that all her friends were dead.

As the latest news report showed 'scenes some viewers may find disturbing' of slave pens at Jemison, she finally broke down.

...

Nikki was also watching the slave pens but without the luxury of a vid screen and several solar systems between them and her. It was her third day staking out the hospital and she wasn't entirely sure why the batarians were using it as a stronghold.

Sure she could understand why others would use it; sterile rooms, plentiful drugs, but neither of those resources were being utilised as the batarians pulled captives out of the cages and cut into their heads without anesthetic in the courtyard. 

Human throats gave voice to inhuman cries, screams tearing through the air, chilling her to the bone. 

At least one of the houses along the perimeter had a pile of vomit inside from her earlier recons but she was starting to become desensitized, her brain shutting out the horrors, refusing to process it in self preservation.

A couple of times she thought she caught sight of familiar faces, but so far she had been lucky enough not to spot anyone she knew by name. 

She didn't know how she would cope with that. 

The thought of seeing one of her brothers down there... 

She quickly derailed that train of thought before she charged the compound with a shotgun. She'd be dead before she reached the perimeter and her mom still needed her. 

She had to face facts, it had been over two weeks and no-one else had made it to the caves. The chances of survival were slim but she had to hope. She knew her family would have fought, and even if they didn't survive, death  **had** to be preferable to what was going on down in the courtyard. 

She wouldn't wish that fate on her worst enemy. Not even Trevor McCauley, who had bullied young Kevin for three weeks before the rest of the Shepard siblings had found out and enacted their revenge.

Smiling at memories of violence, that wasn't a good sign. Nikki needed to focus. 

She needed to get inside that hospital. 

Well ok, getting in  **_could_ ** be easy. As easy as walking up to the gate in fact. 

It was getting out again that would be the tricky part and she had no intention of approaching until she had a plan. 

She needed one soon though. Her mother's health was deteriorating fast.

The first few days she had scouted out more remote locations: farms and lodges, cabins in the wood. She had managed to acquire enough food to last them a month and a variety of painkillers. Her mother's condition was rare however, and treatments rarer still. Nikki couldn't even pronounce the names of the drugs she needed, but she'd seen the labels often enough to recognise them when she saw them.

She could picture them right now on her mother's bedside cabinet and cursed herself for not picking them up while they were in the house.  _ They had just been in the next room! _

Of course her guilty memory conveniently ignored the part where both the room in question, and the corridor leading to it, had been on fire.

The sound of gunshots startled her from her daydream. It had been a common enough sound at the beginning of the raid but had mostly petered out as the local resistance fell and everyone was either captured or killed. The batarians certainly didn't bother shooting slaves in mercy killings, Nikki didn't know if they actually took pleasure in their victims' suffering or if they simply didn't care one way or the other. 

Either way, after nearly dying out completely for a while, gunfire had started becoming more common again in the last few days. She didn't know why and wasn't entirely certain if she cared. Hopefully it could be useful though.

She peered back out the window, searching for any openings, any newly exposed gaps or weaknesses she could exploit while the batarians were distracted... Nothing. If anything the batarian defensive position had been strengthened in response to the disturbance.

A noise behind her had her turning in panic. She saw the assault rifle swinging through the door towards her, the armoured body holding it and the inhuman face. Her finger tightened reflexively on the trigger and a shotgun blast blew the figure off its feet.

A distant part of her brain was aware of a faint flicker as a shield took the brunt of the damage, but before she could finish her attacker off, return fire erupted from the doorway, forcing her to roll away.

**"Cease fire!"** The body on the ground called out. "Cease fire damn it, it's just a kid."

The shooting stopped almost immediately but Nikki didn't relax just yet, her heart pumping fit to burst as adrenaline coursed through her veins. 

Her floored adversary raised a gauntlet to his face and the helmet was removed, revealing a single pair of brown eyes staring out at her from a human face. 

She nearly dropped the shotgun in surprise but her survivalist instincts managed to keep hold of it while her brain struggled to process the sudden turn of events.

"It's ok kid, we're Alliance. Everything's going to be fine." The man's words helped calm her, even as part of her brain called him a liar.  _ How could anything be fine after all that had happened? _ He sat up slowly, taking care not to spook her. "I'm Lieutenant Zabaleta, what's your name kid?"

"Shepard." She lowered her weapon, only to raise it straight back up when another figure entered the room.

"Damn it Higgins, take your helmet off!" The soldier obeyed and Nikki slumped to the floor, back against the wall, body shaking as the events of the past two weeks finally caught up to her. 

She could make out murmured orders in the background as marines searched the rest of the building and Zabaleta started speaking again.

"Hey Shepard? Is it ok if we use your house as a base for a bit?"

"Not my house." She tensed as the lieutenant and another man drew closer and they stopped, hands raised placatingly.

"Easy Shepard, we're not going to hurt you. We need to check if you're injured, is it ok if Doc scans you?"

"Doc?" Her forehead crinkled up in thought, "No I'm fine." She suddenly leapt to her feet, startling the soldiers. "Doctor! You've got to help my mom!" 

The medic and Lieutenant Zabaleta shared a look, glancing between the teenager and the sight of the hospital courtyard turned slave pens that were visible outside the window she'd been at when they entered, drawing the obvious conclusion.

"Shepard," the medic crouched down to her level, voice automatically switching to the special bedside manner reserved for bad news. "We can't go rushing in and mount a rescue, the batarians will blow up the cages if they think they're going to lose. We'll try and save her but I can't promise anything, we have to take things slowly, plan to precision."

The lieutenant had turned away while 'Doc' McCoy spoke. There was no way he could have known about the bombs at the first slave camp they'd assaulted, but it still weighed heavy on his conscience. Knowing or not, his orders had directly resulted in the deaths of at least a hundred colonists. 

The rest of the campaign, having to watch the batarians carry out their barbaric torture and load slave ships under their very noses, impotent to help while they tried to visually locate every bomb and every detonator, plan every second of any attempted rescue and ultimately failing again and again... He wasn't sure which was worse.

One thing was for sure, he doubted he'd ever forget what happened here. 

The medic had finished speaking but there was no comeback from the kid. Zabaleta expected an angry outburst, insistence that they do their job or blame for failing, that had been the common theme among the all too few that they'd managed to save further south. 

The silence was deafening, forcing him to turn back round. There was only confusion on the kid's face, then suddenly it was as if she was visibly hit with realisation.

"Oh no, she's not in there! Up the woods. She needs help, she's ill." 

It sounded like a trap, an ambush. Get a distraught child, split the enemy's forces, lead them to a secluded place and hit them while their guard's down.

He eyed Shepard carefully. He couldn't see any head wounds, any sign the batarians had already caught her and implanted her with a control chip, but that didn't guarantee anything. They might have a family member hostage, promising the child they'll be safe if she cooperates. 

Or she might not even be from Mindoir. She could have been taken years ago in an earlier raid, brainwashed into believing her master's cause and willing to do whatever they asked of her. 

He had no way of knowing for sure and it didn't really matter, whatever he did was likely to come back and bite him on the ass, but he was a firm believer in the mantra: 'better to regret what you did than what you didn't do'. If there was even a slight chance of Shepard telling the truth then he couldn't just leave another civilian to die. He couldn't save everyone, but someone, anyone... He needed that right now.

It was worth the risk.

"Ok McCoy, take two marines and go check it out. Make sure you stay in radio contact."

...

Hannah's breath was laboured, specks of blood hit the floor when she coughed, floating in and out of cognitive thought. 

At first she hadn't been certain if the fog in her brain was caused by her condition or a side effect of the pain meds Nicola had found, but every now and again she'd find her mind sharp without the accompanying agony and knew her condition had deteriorated past the point of no return.

She had done plenty of research with Thomas when she was first diagnosed. It had been scary reading and she had made him promise, if she ever reached this stage and asked for it, he would allow her the dignity of death.

If her husband was here she may well have chosen that route by now, but he wasn't. It was just her and Nikki. Her daughter would struggle enough when she succumbed as it was, there was no way she would add to her burden by asking that of her.

_ Speak of the devil _ , she thought as she saw the teenager reenter the cave, eyes roaming for danger even here. Hannah stiffened as two more figures entered behind, relaxing almost immediately as she recognised the Alliance armour. One of them stopped, turning to guard the tunnel while the other followed her daughter who really was bounding over this time.

"Mom, I found a doctor!"

"Technically I'm just a field medic, but I should be able to help." The man smiled, omni-tool brightening to life on his wrist as he tapped a few buttons. "James McCoy, is it alright if I take some scans ma'am?" 

She nodded her consent while pushing an empty cup forward.

"Nikki, can you get me some more water please?" The happiness vanished from Nicola's face in a flash, replaced by a frown as she picked up the cup. 

Carefully, but with enough force to make her point, she placed another of the 'within easy reaching distance' full mugs in its place before rising and heading to the river. Hannah watched her go with a sad smile.

"Good kid you've got there." James observed as he started the scan but a weak hand on his wrist attempted to stall his movement.

"It's terminal, don't waste your time." He glanced down at his patient but her attention was still fixed on the girl at the river, his omni-tool was continuing to feed him information and it was a wonder the woman had survived this long. "How are things out there? Is it over? Will Nikki be safe?"

"It's nearly over but not quite. She'll be safe I promise."

"Good, good. Then I have one last favour to ask. I understand if you can't..."

...

**"No! That wasn't the deal!"** Nikki raged, pain and betrayal burned in her eyes, mixing with the imminent grief.

"In future get a signed contract." Her mother advised weakly. Her heart wasn't really in it but it was the kind of thing Thomas would have said. Besides it  _ was _ good advice for later life and it was her last chance to give her daughter any of that. "Always keep a copy and always read the small print."

"But we made it. We can get your meds now. You can get better." She was pleading now, desperation clear in her voice. 

Hannah wondered if she was being selfish, but her mind was set now, dragging things out wouldn't make it any better for either of them. Yes this would hurt Nikki, but that would still happen no matter when she stopped breathing.

"I'm sorry Nick but it's too late. I can't get better anymore, I've gotten too ill, been off the drugs for too long." She saw the change in her daughter's eyes and quickly headed it off. "Oh no, don't you  **_dare_ ** think like that! This wasn't your fault Nikki, none of it. You were brilliant. Whatever you decide to do with your life, you're going to be amazing. I'm proud of you Nick, don't ever forget that."

"There's no other way?" She desperately appealed to 'Doc' McCoy but he awkwardly shook his head.

"I'm sorry, it's a matter of days now anyway. Only difference is longer pain." 

Nicola nodded reluctantly, eyes glistening with the first pricks of tears. She clutched her mother's proffered hand so tight it hurt but Hannah wasn't about to tell her to stop, instead she merely signaled she was ready to the Alliance medic and he stepped forward with a full syringe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so ends Nikki's childhood. Her life however has not ended and will continue in "I really need to think of a title" - The Trish and Nikki Saga Part 2, which will cover her career in the Alliance military pre-Normandy.
> 
> Hope you've enjoyed, any comments or feedback gratefully received.


End file.
